So lame, will look at taptalk per da nit

Get those pics up!

Run good buddy...I hope to join next summer's adventure.

Pic posting using Taptalk is ridiculously easy. Actually can't imagine doing a live trip report without it.

OP, did you figure out a game at Mirage? I can park at TI because I refuse to give MGM any parking money. TI would gladly spread the game too, and they have great drink service.

4/8 Limit Holdem with 1/2 Kill this Thursday night at Mirage starting at 530pm. Just in time for you aces and kings cracked promo nits. A list will go up at 2pm on Thursday for anyone who wants to play.

Woo hoo!

I'm there Thur - Sun with my wifey. Normally my first night is greyhounding it up with the 1-2 NL professionals at Aria/Bellagio and making jokes only I laugh at.

But this option for tomorrow looks good.

Excellent. Bring the wife to play as well.

An FYI to all the Bellagio grinders. Just found out poker room comps expire 365 days from date earned. The are no longer accrued like they used to. I am starting the day off -300+ in comps

bad beat with comps; but at least there are not any beat beats at the tables (actually; we dont know, because in addition to lack of pics, there has also been a lack of written updates :P).

Yeah, Venetian did that too. In a way CET is worse. Comps llive only 6 months, altho they get a new life if you earn a point after 6 months.

Movado, it was nice meeting you and Mrs Movado. Did you finish that 75 hours at the Orleans?

I had been playing and running so bad that I decided to give up poker for a year if things didn't improve at the Mirage when you tried to get your game going. They did, so I tried "one last" tournament (daily Deepstack) which worked out okay. Anyway, too bad that 4/8 didn't get rolling, especially with the room full of 3/6 players. Maybe if you had made it 6/12.

Room Reviews/Observations

Orleans
can speak any language at the tables
Angry players
Max rake/jackpot drop $5 ($3/$2)
Players lack class
People are seen wearing the same clothes 3 days in a row
Jackpots & high hands
Comps $1.25/hr I believe
Restaurants are reasonably priced
Always multiple limit games running including holdem & Omaha with short wait lists
Flip phones

Bellagio
English only at the tables
Max rake $5
Classy people
$2/hr comps
Overpriced restaurants
Disappointed in $50 holiday buffet
1 table allotted to 4/8 holdem
Majority of players are Asian and locals
Both rooms
Encountered many players trying to grind out $40-$50 winning per day then would snap cash out
Players in 60s-80s

Have you tried the 9-18? Arriving soon, but I've been checking the waitlist on Bravo the last few days and everything looks crazy long.

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Have a safe flight in. Lists have been off the wall for all games. I have not played the 9-18 as of yet. The Orleans has been spreading 8-16 regularly (also have yet to play.).

Impressed with the Orleans staff as they open new games regularly and move through the lists efficiently.

Maybe we can get 4-8 spread at Aria. I'll try to convince a crowd to walk over if I'm #25 on the wait list, lol.
- former resident Aria LHE reg (these games did exist there for one year)

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Aren't Aria's lists just as long? Bally's a better choice, imo. Almost as close and they've been running 3/6 already on and off. They'd be happy to run a 4/8 I bet.

Yes, but watermelon vodka and pretty waitresses.

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Let's get it going. Friday?

For them it's still the same day; they never went home, because of the grinder hourly promos.

Speaking of which, movado, did you make your 75 hours?

More correctly, they're there long after they made their hours, they don't want to chance being at home when a jackpot hits. It was ripe to hit when I was there last week.

P.S. I changed clothes at least once a day. I just have a dozen grey t-shirts. Not kidding.

Sure. I'll try with y'all.
Edit: As I walk by the Aria poker room, I see that it's a madhouse here too.

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PERSONAL GOALS for the trip
Exercise 1 hr at the gym in the morning doing cardio (FAIL 0/14) Was not motivated to exercise resulting in me tacking on 12 lbs in extra weight from when i left)
Eat a nutritional breakfast at TS prior to heading to the strip (SUCCESS) I made a protein shake each day prior to the start of the day
Mid day snacks (FAIL) This resulted in 32 ounce peanut butter and chocolate shakes with extra peanut butter sauce from Basken Robbins at Orleans
Portion control dinners and not get to out of line (FAIL)
Drink plenty of water (100+ ounces/day) (FAIL, tried some new drinks and had a good amount of water)
Minimal if any alcohol (FAIL. Had a multiple Greyhounds, Cadillac Margaritas, Bellagio Cocktails, Angry Orchards and Sun Splashes)

POKER GOALS for the trip
Sweat some 20/40 or 40/80 limit holdem with hole cards . Did this 2 yrs ago with a limit holdem regular for an hour and found it helpful. (Unsuccessful, spent minimal time at the Bellagio where the higher limit games were run due to large wait lists)
120 hrs of poker (average 8.5 hrs)
DATE CASINO GAME HOURS RESULT TOTALS
6/24/17 ORLEANS 4-8 LHDM 4 -118
6/25/17 MIRAGE 3-6 LHDM 2.5 +138
ORLEANS 4-8 LHDM 5.5 +169
WSOP 1/3 NL 1 +56
6/26/17 ORLEANS 4-8 LHDM 10 -289
6/27/17 ORLEANS 4-8 LHDM 8.5 -181
6/28/17 BELLAGIO 4-8 LHDM 12.5 -179
HARRAHS 1/2 NL 1 -143
6/29/17 BELLAGIO 4-8 LHDM 4 -20
6/30/17 BELLAGIO 4-8 LHDM 7.5 -30
7/1/17 BELLAGIO 4-8 LHDM 8 +120
7/2/17 ORLEANS 4-8 LHDM 10.5 +419
7/3/17 ORLEANS 4-8 LHDM 10.5 -428
7/4/17 ORLEANS 4-8 LHDM 8 -45
7/5/17 ORLEANS 4-8 LHDM 3 +253
7/6/17 RED ROCK 4-8 LHDM 4 +110
7/7/17 ORLEANS 4-8 LHDM 8.75 +341
TOTAL 109.25 +173

15 hrs NL (1-2/1-3) most likely at Excalibur/PH (FAIL 2 Hrs total)
I have not played no limit poker in a casino for over 10 years
105 hrs LH (4-8) Orleans/Bellagio/Red Rock (SUCCESS)
Table select when multiple games are running (Changed tables almost every session at the Orleans. It was nice that they had up to 8 4/8 limit games going at 1 time)

Head over to WSOP at the Rio (A friend from our local game bagged and tagged to make day 2 of the Monster Stack)
UpSwing party (Was unable to fit it in)
attended last year at the Wynn
I posted a small 4 tournament package on a staking website where I will play if 50% sells. The last tourney I played in Vegas was the first Colossus back in 2015.
6/25/17 $250 $50k in a day $50k GTD Planet Hollywood
6/30/17 $365 WSOP The Giant
7/1/17 $888 WSOP Crazy 8s $888k GTD for 1st place
7/2/17 $250 PHamous Low Roller $250k GTD Planet Hollywood
Did not play any tournaments


DINNER
Cafe Orleans (comps)
B breakfast special with steak was tuff as to be expected
Prime Rib Loft Orleans (comps)
C meat was fattier than I though for one of the higher end places at Orleans, service was good
Cafe Bellagio (comps)
C even though we used comps, the prices were extremely expensive and portions medium. Had the fish & chips and French Onion soup with a club sandwich
Noodles Bellagio (comps)
A you can never go wrong with chicken Pad Thai from this place
Snacks Bellagio (comps)
B Had a loaded cheese fries and slice of pizza
Buffett Bellagio (comps)
D By far the worst meal of the trip. Very disappointed in the food quality for the buffet. You would think at $50 per person once would be impressed with the offerings. Maybe it was just a bad night.
Giordanos Ballys
B the pizza here is the same as at home, prices are the same as well
Carlos n Charlie's Flamingo (Restaurant.com
D again another over priced meal even with the $25 off from resturants.com. The bill was almost $100 for a coke, burrito, enchilada, fajita and chips and salsa. Would have preferred taco bell or chipotle over this.
In & Out Link
A excellent meal, food was served hot and fresh
Musachi off the strip
Did not make it to this establishment
PF Changs Planet Hollywood
Did not make it to this establishment
Mirage Buffet (my Vegas)
Did not make it to this establishment
Noodles Mandalay Bay (my Vegas)
Did not make it to this establishment
Ellis Island
Did not make it to this establishment

Chada Thai
A excellent experience with lots of flavor in the food. fast service and a quality meal that didn’t break the bank
Mortons (the steakhouse)
A I can honestly say that i have never had a bad experience here
Orleans TGI Fridays
$6 appetizers and certain drinks after a certain time. Good service and a large variety of items.


PHOTOS from the trip
Airport


Running Pure from the start


Lift Off


Kicks


The Village for 2 Weeks










Running Hot at the Orleans


In & Out


WSOP




All American Dave (Free meal I won through an email drawing)


Prices for hats at the Bellagio Gift Shop, purchased the same brand had a few years back for $38 each


One of the few large pots at the Bellagio


Making Change at the Bellagio


Orleans going good again




Bellagio Buffet Prices




Peanut Butter and Chocolate shake run good 32oz








Chada Thai






Red Rock




Diet Starts Monday


Thats a wrap



In closing if you have made it this far:
This trip was a dual purpose trip. I am working on convincing my wife to make the move to the LV area (Summerlin/Henderson) from Chicagoland suburbs. The cost of living in LV is so much better than here in our area. My wife did show interest and its something that we are going to work toward and meet with a realtor next time out. In speaking with a large number of people, there are opportunities in the area and most everyone seemed happy to be living there.

I did run into multiple youtube bloggers on the trip at various casinos including: Brad Owen, Andrew Neeme, Poker Kraut and Jaydon Ogden. All were very cordial as i thanked them for putting out the content.

While sitting at the Orleans, Oklahoma Johnny Hale came to the table for some limit holdem. He was rocking hisWSOP Best all around player bracelet from 1980. It was nice hearing him tell stories about the old days of poker and reminiscing on Stu Unger.

I also was able to connect with Pig4Bill and KMX for a short session. It was nice to catch up over some pokerz.

Even though i was unable to get any of the promotion money at the Orleans outside of the $50 for 25+ hrs put in, i found myself liking the room more and more. The staff was always super friendly and i was seated in less than 30 minutes each time. The food options are plentiful and cost effective. I did see quads flop 4x in 10 hrs for $500/each and another quads and straight flush by the river for $100 each.

If you get a chance to check out the Red Rock, they have a nice room as well. The cleanest room and chips by far. This was the friendliest table we encountered. It was a $20/uber from the rock to the village.

Thanks for following along and i apologize for the lack of updates. Photo bucket was not cooperating with my iPad for some reason.

Wow! With all the walking and the heat, I would think you would lose. Maybe you walk a lot anyway. I don't. I lost 9 pounds (temporarily I'm sure) for the 9 days. Having a kitchen handy probably hurt you.

Any time Strip food is as good and as cheap as at home, especially if it's a regional specialty, that deserves an A++

Meanwhile, zillow.com.

I had the opposite reaction. So many selfish bastids, reflected in the way they drive. But I live in a small town, where politeness is the standard.

You didn't get the 75 hours? Looks like it from your totals.

You HIT these or SAW them? If HIT, congrats.

If you end up staying there, they have free shuttles for guests. Also, if you're a video poker degen, I think they have advantage games there, or at least high 99+ % games.